There was a time when new moms lived in neighbourhoods, homes, and communities filled with other moms. There was a sisterhood. Spare hands to rock the babes, extra plates to stretch the family dinner, stories to entertain, advice to encourage tired eyes. Lodes were lightened with a good cry over a glass of wine or laughs over too much coffee.
Many of us now live away from our families. Our neighbourhoods may be isolated or host to families who are out of the kid game. Or maybe we just haven’t put ourselves out there to find some great mom besties. Many of us turn to technology to find this maternal sorority. It’s been said that in our day and age life is being lived online (and you know I’m not even a little bit sorry about being online).
How has this impacted motherhood? Maybe there is a lot more TMI Facebook status updates on potty training. We all know CityVille isn’t getting any smaller. And our news feed is most definitely a cascade of way too many pictures of our friends’ adorable and charming children. Look at these seven pictures of my daughter with a floppy hat on! Only a mom can spot the differences between these seven, but the world needs to see them aaalllllll! Yup, I’m guilty too! But really, look at my adorable and charming children!
Aside from some wonderful mom friends in my life, I’ve also found a mom community through Instagram. Turns out it’s not just for hipsters AND it is scientifically proven to make your food taste better if you Instagram it!
Instagram has become a daily habit for me. Here is where I touch base with other amazing women and moms. We share our highs and lows of the day. Brag about our kid’s firsts. Get real about our own momfails. We reach out for encouragement and advice in our struggles as wives, women and mothers. We display our DIY wins and laugh about our flops. Peek into each other’s kitchens for some ideas and recipes. Even have the token ‘girl-talk’ too: a fitting room mugshot for some lady-to-lady input; a ‘how cute are these jeans?’ pic; and a cheers with a glass of wine at the end of the night.
I’ve been seeing more and more Instagram posts mirror these sentiments. Maybe a mom is travelling across the country in a camper with her family. Her ‘Instamoms’ keep her tethered and encouraged that she will survive this nomadic and confined space. Maybe it is a SAHM or a mom whose husband works away. She needs someone to share her daily grind and nod in constant agreement that her kid’s is totes adorbs! Or that stylish mom doing countless crafty things and bringing her friends along for the journey, seeking their input in real time.
This has become my mom community. Sure it solidifies my LadyNerd status, but I wear it as proudly as my label of hashtag abuser and Stay At Home Mom.
So, jump in the water and find your mom community on Instagram.
I’m encouraging everyone to use #instamomclub to find other moms who want to swim in the caffeinated photo stream that is motherhood via Instagram. I didn’t invent this club, I’m just giving a name to the one that I already see has been formed.
Spot on, Shawna!! I’m somewhat addicted to IG myself for all the reasons you listed. I’ll be sure to use your hashtag!
Right on Angie. It’s no secret you are most definitely in my instamomclub 🙂